We’ve had a season full of delightful concerts and our April 27th concert certainly didn’t disappoint, to the contrary it was a fantastic evening of music, witty banter and all around good feelings.
Annie Sumi (www.anniesumi.com) started the evening with an opening set. Annie looks like a soft, gentle person (which she is) and has a soft and gentle speaking voice but when she sings! What a contrast! A full throated, uninhibited singing voice which demands your attention and got our undivided attention; a short but spellbinding set which resulted in an unprecedented standing ovation. The audience loved Annie and I’m confident that we’ll see her again at Acoustic Harvest. In the meantime, Annie has a full summer schedule heading off to the UK for a short tour before coming back for festival season. You can catch her in Ontario at The Kingsville Folk Festival, Aug. 9-11 - www.kingsvillefolkfest.org
Dala (www.dalagirls.ca) took to the stage completely unfazed by having to follow Annie’s standing O, in fact, knowing Sheila and Amanda they were probably thrilled at her success. I’m always taken by the visual contrast between these two; on this night brunette Sheila in edgy black and cool, blonde Amanda in vibrant red but the harmonies are, as my friend Lorraine said, SUBLIME. They’ve been a duo for fifteen years and friends for even longer – which when you think about it is amazing when music history abounds with stories about duos/groups who can’t stand to be in each others company off stage. And I love listening to the between songs banter between the two of them, it’s always witty, funny and endearing. What we learned from the chat is that while Dala remains a vital musical force (thank God) the women have branched out and taken up their own side projects: Amanda has released a children's CD and has written the score for a movie (to be released this year I think) and Sheila has a second duo going with Brian McMillan and they’ll be releasing their first CD “Kennedy Road” on May 16th at The Burdock (www.kennedyroadmusic.com).
To round out our 22nd season we have two more concerts coming up:
On Saturday, May 11th we’re pleased to present Eileen McGann (www.eileenmcgann.com) one of Canada’s finest songwriters as well as a superb interpreter of traditional Irish/Scottish music. As a songwriter Eileen has won awards for her environmental anthems and social commentary as well as hilarious political satire and is a strong voice for justice and the earth; as a singer of traditional songs Eileen has standing invitations to some of Britain’s most traditional festivals, a testament to her ability to breath life into ancient songs and show that they still have power and relevance. On stage, Eileen’s performances are full of laughter and stories which, with her breathtaking voice and stellar guitar playing, makes for a riveting evening of music.
On Saturday, June 1st we present for the first time at Acoustic Harvest, Angelique Francis (www.angeliquefrancis.net). Beginning her stage career at the age of 7, by her 14th year Angelique was a regular performer at folk festivals across North America. Multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, multi-genre singer-song writer and composer she has wowed audiences across the globe with her electrifying performances, instrumental abilities and powerful vocals. Known for her eclectic mix of musical genres including blues, soul, folk, jazz, gospel and rock her soulful smoky vocals and instrumental techniques display a modern sensibility, yet you can hear influences of legends like Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith and many more. Her instrumental abilities call to mind Willie Dixon on the bass, Sister Rosetta Thorpe on guitar, Big Mama Thornton on the Harmonica and Aretha on the piano.
So, there you have it, two phenomenal concerts to end our fantastic 2018/19 season and we hope to see you there.
A couple of other things happening around town that you might be interested in. Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer gave us a great show a couple of years ago and they’ll be back in Toronto at Hugh’s Room on May 19th. On a sadder note, that unique singer/songwriter and national treasure Joe Hall passed away a few weeks ago. There’ll be an extravaganza of a send-off at The Tranzac Club on Friday May 17 with, among others, Tony Q. Jaymz Bee and Rebecca Campbell.
Producer Rick Worral has asked us to give a shout-out for the upcoming Rocky Mountain High-An Evening of John Denver, with the Hamilton Philharmonic Ochestra. This production will be presented at Roy Thompson Hall on June 21. For more info, please visit: www.rockymountainhighconcert.com
Steve Pritchard has been a longtime supporter of all kinds of roots music and has been very generous in his support of Acoustic Harvest. Every month he features our performers and, if possible, has them guest on his show. As I've mentioned before in these newsletters, it's been very hard, in fact, nearly impossible, to get radio promotion elsewhere - you've been to our concerts, you know the caliber of the performers we've presented year after year, and mostly Canadian performers, and perhaps you'd agree that all of them should be heard much more often on our airwaves. We are very grateful to Steve for his support and to CIUT.85.5fm in general for their support of local talent and Canadian talent. CIUT 89.5fm is independent, community radio - the only one in Toronto - and relies on listeners for much of its funding, the Spring fundraising drive takes place May 6-12 and you can donate on its secure server at www.ciut.fm, or tune into Steve's show Radio Boogie, Wednesday from 4-6, for two hours of great music and more details. Hint, you might want to know about the Grand Prize Draw because this year it's a trip to Dubrovnik in Croatia and that's not all!
Acoustic Harvest will be calling in to Steve's show as a gesture of support and we'll also be giving away tickets to Eileen McGann's concert.
Heather Fielding
Annie Sumi (www.anniesumi.com) started the evening with an opening set. Annie looks like a soft, gentle person (which she is) and has a soft and gentle speaking voice but when she sings! What a contrast! A full throated, uninhibited singing voice which demands your attention and got our undivided attention; a short but spellbinding set which resulted in an unprecedented standing ovation. The audience loved Annie and I’m confident that we’ll see her again at Acoustic Harvest. In the meantime, Annie has a full summer schedule heading off to the UK for a short tour before coming back for festival season. You can catch her in Ontario at The Kingsville Folk Festival, Aug. 9-11 - www.kingsvillefolkfest.org
Dala (www.dalagirls.ca) took to the stage completely unfazed by having to follow Annie’s standing O, in fact, knowing Sheila and Amanda they were probably thrilled at her success. I’m always taken by the visual contrast between these two; on this night brunette Sheila in edgy black and cool, blonde Amanda in vibrant red but the harmonies are, as my friend Lorraine said, SUBLIME. They’ve been a duo for fifteen years and friends for even longer – which when you think about it is amazing when music history abounds with stories about duos/groups who can’t stand to be in each others company off stage. And I love listening to the between songs banter between the two of them, it’s always witty, funny and endearing. What we learned from the chat is that while Dala remains a vital musical force (thank God) the women have branched out and taken up their own side projects: Amanda has released a children's CD and has written the score for a movie (to be released this year I think) and Sheila has a second duo going with Brian McMillan and they’ll be releasing their first CD “Kennedy Road” on May 16th at The Burdock (www.kennedyroadmusic.com).
To round out our 22nd season we have two more concerts coming up:
On Saturday, May 11th we’re pleased to present Eileen McGann (www.eileenmcgann.com) one of Canada’s finest songwriters as well as a superb interpreter of traditional Irish/Scottish music. As a songwriter Eileen has won awards for her environmental anthems and social commentary as well as hilarious political satire and is a strong voice for justice and the earth; as a singer of traditional songs Eileen has standing invitations to some of Britain’s most traditional festivals, a testament to her ability to breath life into ancient songs and show that they still have power and relevance. On stage, Eileen’s performances are full of laughter and stories which, with her breathtaking voice and stellar guitar playing, makes for a riveting evening of music.
On Saturday, June 1st we present for the first time at Acoustic Harvest, Angelique Francis (www.angeliquefrancis.net). Beginning her stage career at the age of 7, by her 14th year Angelique was a regular performer at folk festivals across North America. Multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, multi-genre singer-song writer and composer she has wowed audiences across the globe with her electrifying performances, instrumental abilities and powerful vocals. Known for her eclectic mix of musical genres including blues, soul, folk, jazz, gospel and rock her soulful smoky vocals and instrumental techniques display a modern sensibility, yet you can hear influences of legends like Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith and many more. Her instrumental abilities call to mind Willie Dixon on the bass, Sister Rosetta Thorpe on guitar, Big Mama Thornton on the Harmonica and Aretha on the piano.
So, there you have it, two phenomenal concerts to end our fantastic 2018/19 season and we hope to see you there.
A couple of other things happening around town that you might be interested in. Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer gave us a great show a couple of years ago and they’ll be back in Toronto at Hugh’s Room on May 19th. On a sadder note, that unique singer/songwriter and national treasure Joe Hall passed away a few weeks ago. There’ll be an extravaganza of a send-off at The Tranzac Club on Friday May 17 with, among others, Tony Q. Jaymz Bee and Rebecca Campbell.
Producer Rick Worral has asked us to give a shout-out for the upcoming Rocky Mountain High-An Evening of John Denver, with the Hamilton Philharmonic Ochestra. This production will be presented at Roy Thompson Hall on June 21. For more info, please visit: www.rockymountainhighconcert.com
Steve Pritchard has been a longtime supporter of all kinds of roots music and has been very generous in his support of Acoustic Harvest. Every month he features our performers and, if possible, has them guest on his show. As I've mentioned before in these newsletters, it's been very hard, in fact, nearly impossible, to get radio promotion elsewhere - you've been to our concerts, you know the caliber of the performers we've presented year after year, and mostly Canadian performers, and perhaps you'd agree that all of them should be heard much more often on our airwaves. We are very grateful to Steve for his support and to CIUT.85.5fm in general for their support of local talent and Canadian talent. CIUT 89.5fm is independent, community radio - the only one in Toronto - and relies on listeners for much of its funding, the Spring fundraising drive takes place May 6-12 and you can donate on its secure server at www.ciut.fm, or tune into Steve's show Radio Boogie, Wednesday from 4-6, for two hours of great music and more details. Hint, you might want to know about the Grand Prize Draw because this year it's a trip to Dubrovnik in Croatia and that's not all!
Acoustic Harvest will be calling in to Steve's show as a gesture of support and we'll also be giving away tickets to Eileen McGann's concert.
Heather Fielding
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